Heather R. DeShon

Assistant Research Professor
CERI
University of Memphis

Contact Information:
3890 Central Ave
Memphis, TN 38152
(901) 678-1527 (office)
(901) 678-4734 (fax)

Email: hdeshon at memphis.edu
Education
        B.S., Geophysics and Mathematics, Southern Methodist University, May 1999
        Ph.D., Earth Sciences (Geophysics), University of California Santa Cruz, June 2004
            Thesis title: Seismogenic zone structure along the Middle America subduction zone, Costa Rica (link)


Courses (link)
  • Inverse Methods in Geophysics
  • Data Analysis in Geophysics
  • Seminar in Seismology-The Seismogenic Zone of Subduction Thrust Fault
  • Antelope: Love it or hate it, here is how to use it

Research Interests (link)
  • Subduction seismogenic zone processes
  • Earthquake generation in intraplate settings
  • Local earthquake tomography and waveform cross-correlation
  • Volcano seismology


Current Research Projects

Subduction Studies
  • Imaging 3D Seismic Velocity and Attenuation Heterogeneity Along the Seismogenic Zone of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, NSF MARGINS Program, PI: H.R. DeShon (UoM)
  • Defining locations and patch sizes for slow earthquake ruptures in subduction zones, NSF Marine Geology and Geophysics, PIs: H.R. DeShon (UoM), S.L. Bilek (New Mexico Tech), E.R. Engdahl (U. Colorado)

New Madrid and Central US Studies
  • Northern Embayment Lithosphere Experiment, NSF Earthscope, Collaborators: C. Langston, H.R. DeShon, C.A. Powell, S. Horton (UoM), C. Ammon (Penn State), and B. Hermann (SLU)  
  • Imaging Body Wave Attenuation Heterogeneity within the New Madrid Seismic Zone using Local Earthquakes, USGS NEHRP, PI: H.R. DeShon (UoM)
  • Detection and Location of Non-Volcanic Tremor in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, USGS NEHRP, PIs: H.R. DeShon, C. Langston, S. Horton, M. Withers (UoM)
  • Improving Regional Ground Motion Attenuation Boundaries and Models Using EarthScope USArray Data for Use in the National Seismic Hazards Mapping Project, USGS NEHRP, PIs: C. Cramer and H.R. DeShon
  • Integrating USArray and Cooperative New Madrid Seismic Network Data to Establish Central US Catalog Location and Magnitude Sensitivities, USGS NEHRP, PI: H.R. DeShon
  • Swarm Activity within the New Madrid Seismic Zone

Past Projects
  • High-precision teleseismic relocation and tomography for the M 9 and M 8.7 Sumatra great earthquake sequences, NSF Geophysics,  Collaborators: H.R. DeShon (UoM), Cliff Thurber, Haijang Zhang, Jeremy Pesicek (Univ. Wisconsin), E.R. Engdahl (Univ. Colorado), M. Brudzinski (Univ. Miami Ohio), and F. Waldhauser (Lamont Observatory, Columbia Univ.)
  • Imaging 3D Seismic Velocity and Attenuation Heterogeneity Along the Seismogenic Zone of Costa Rica and Nicaragua and Costa Rica Seismogenic Zone Experiment (CRSEIZE), NSF Margins Program, PIs Schwartz (UCSC), Dixon (Miami), Dorman and Brown (Scripps)
  • Earthquake Location and 3D Velocity Determination of Alaskan Volcanoes using Waveform Cross-correlation and Double-difference Tomography, PIs Thurber (U. Wisconsin) and Prejean (AVO)

Selected Recent Publications

Bisrat, S., H.R. DeShon, and C.A. Rowe (2012), Swarm Activity Within the New Madrid Seismic Zone Identified Using Waveform Cross- Correlation Techniques, Bull. Seismo. Soc. Am., in press.


Hamburger, M.W., K. Shoemaker, S. Horton, H.R. DeShon, M. Withers, G. Pavlis, and E. Sherrill (2011), Aftershocks of the 2008 Mt. Carmel, Illinois, Earthquake: Evidence for Conjugate Faulting near the Termination of the Wabash Valley Fault System, Seismo. Res. Letts., 82, 735-747, doi: 10.1795/gssrl.82.5.735.

Bilek, S., E.R. Engdahl, H.R. DeShon, and M. El Hariri (2011), The 24 October 2010 Sumatra tsunami earthquake: Slip in a slow patch, Geophys. Res. Letts., 38, L14306, doi:10.1029/2011GL047864. PDF available by request


DeShon, H.R., C.H. Thurber, and J. Power (2010), Earthquake waveform similarity and evolution at Augustine volcano, Alaska, from 1993-2006, in The 2006 Eruption of Augustine Volcano, Alaska, eds. J.A. Power, M.L. Coombs, and J.T. Freymueller, USGS Professional Paper 1769, p. 103-118.


Pesicek, J.D., C.H. Thurber, H. Zhang, H.R. DeShon, and E.R. Engdahl (2010), Teleseismic Double-difference Relocation of Earthquakes along the Sumatra-Andaman Subduction Zone using a Three-Dimensional Model, J. Geophys. Res., 115, B1030, 10.1029/2010JB007443.

Pesicek, J.D., C.H. Thurber, S. Widiyantoro, E.R. Engdahl, and H.R. DeShon (2010), Sharpening the Tomographic Image of the Subducting Slab below the Sumatra-Andaman Region, Geophys. J. Int., 182, 433-453, doi: 10.111/ j.1365-246X.2010.04630.x.


Powell, C.A., H.R. DeShon, and M. Withers (2010), Intrusions and Anomalous Vp/Vs Ratios Associated with the New Madrid Seismic Zone, J. Geophys. Res., 115, B08311, doi:10.1029/2009JB007107


Link to a complete publications listing with PDFs


 Curriculum Vitae (link)

Graduate student opportunities

I am seeking M.S. level graduate students to work on central US and global subduction zone seismology projects.  If you would like more information, please email me.


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Updated on January, 2012